Thursday, September 5, 2013

Car Accidents and Safety Belts


Before 2012, the United States had enjoyed a dramatic decrease in motor vehicle deaths. Then, in 2012, according to the National Safety Council, 34,080 people were killed in car accidents -- a five percent increase. One of the reasons for the increase: THE ECONOMY! According to Kenneth P. Kolosh, the statistics manager for the National Safety Council, economic recessions have "supressed traffic fatalities", most notably in the early '80's and early '90's when there were recessions. Now that our economy is allegedly on the upswing, more people are driving and, as a result, more people are getting killed. However, as always, deaths can be prevented. Two-thirds of all fatal crashes in 2011, as an example, were caused by one or more of four factors: improper or no seatlbelt useage; speeding, drunk driving or "distracted driving." Of the 34,080 deaths, almost 13,000 were suffered by unbelted occupants. Thankfully "only" about 15% of the driving public do not generally use seatbelts. But those 15%, cause almost 50% of vehicle-occupant deaths. Though arguably due to the seriouslness of the crash many unbelted passengers would never have survived, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that about 3,384 people would of those people would be living today had a seatbelt been in use. One scary statistic is that belt use is lowest among people age 16 to 24, with only 74% of that age group using seatbelts. Only one bit of advice helps and we've heard it since we were all kids: BUCKLE UP. Again, seatbelts are not going to guarantee that you survive a car wreck, but it seldom can harm you, (though there are cases where some seatbelts have done more harm than good.) Interestingly, there has been some talk about "belt-ignition interlocks" that make it impossible to start a car without first buckling up. You may recall in the 1970's there was a push for that, but it was not only unpopular. People simply overrode the system by placing the seatblet behind them and buckling it! With school starting let us all do our best to beware of children and other pedestrians. Have a safe school year!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Attorneys Fees

Attorneys fees and how they are arrived at have long been the most contentious issue between attorney and client.  Recently, Stephen J. Harper a former partner at the law firm Kirland & Ellis and an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, and the author  of “The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis” bemoaned the large-city law firm billing schemes.  His editorial piece can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/opinion/the-case-against-the-law-firm-billable-hour.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=print

Truly, the large law firm billing practices are unfair and unconscionable.  However, the real reason behind the expensive hourly rates for relatively inexperienced attorneys is greed -- across the board.  First, the senior partners of most large law firms make more money than they are entitled to.  Their performance has nothing to do with the results that they achieve.  Moreover, the sky high rates that they do charge bear no relationship to the reality of the work that they actually do.  They charge rates of $400, $800, and some over $1,000 an hour because they can.  But they should not be able to charge that much money, because it is not fair. 

Ultimately, we all pay for such unfairly inflated attorneys fees.  These large firms charge such high rates not to individuals but to corporations.  If they do charge such rates to individuals, the only people that can pay those high rates are the super rich.  Because corporations are paying those rates, that means that WE are paying the rates.  Each product that we buy, each service that we take advantage of increases in price because large law firms, (and some small ones) charge the unreasonable fee, the corporate bosses, playing with corporate money, pay it, and they pass the ultimate cost on to the consumer.

With the tremendous glut and overpopulation in lawyers -- oh, yes, they keep coming from law school -- you would think that the hourly rates of lawyers would decrease.  They have not.

In our area, the North Country of New York, it is a problem.  WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?

If you are in need of an attorney ASK the attorney what his or her fee for services are.  Countless times when I am in with a client seeking my advice they rarely ask how much it is going to cost.  Quite often I have to bring it up. 

Fees often depend upon the case.  For example, there is no hourly rate charged for our clients on a personal injury case.  We charge a fee on a CONTINGENT basis.  A CONTINGENCY FEE is a fee that is absolutely result oriented.  If I do not secure an award, by settlement or trial, I am not owed an attorney fee.  If I do secure an award, the attorney would be entitled, again, depending upon the TYPE of the personal injury case, a percentage of up to 33 and 1/3rd percent of the total amount recovered.

If you are engaged in a divorce or Family Court matter, we do charge an hourly rate.  We discuss the hourly rate with our prospective clients at our first meeting.  We also bill our clients every 30 to 60 days so that they know what we are doing.  If a client has a concern about our billing we have dedicated staff members and attorneys who address billing issues directly with the client.

Expensive lawyers do not mean better results.  Oftentimes I have seen here in the North Country, attorneys charging $275.00 and over who have no business charging that much because of their relative inexperience, abilities, or other factors.  Your best bet is to talk to lawyers about what they charge, how they charge and when they charge.  DO NOT BE AFRAID OR EMBARRASSED in talking about the bill and do not be afraid or embarrassed to negotiate the bill or the rate.

Always remember, lawyers cannot work for free.  They have families to provide for and support staff, (which help you to get your case pushed forward), to pay for the work they do.  However, having a candid and open discussion about attorneys fees makes it a much better experience for the client with much more predictable results. 

If you think that they attorney that you are considering charges too much, call up attorneys in the area to ask how much they charge per hour.  If you are an informed consumer you can then concentrate on the legal issue that you hired the lawyer for in the first place.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Insurance Policies -- Part One

Today I met with a client in my office.  She was very reluctant to sue, and was reluctant to even come into my office to discuss making a claim against someone else.  She felt guilty about it.  My client, I'll call her "Ann" was hurt because someone had taken a drug known as R-2, and had crossed over the center line, slamming into Ann.  Still, Ann was guilty to be in my office talking about suing someone.

I then jumped up on my soapbox and told Ann that far from being guilty, she was doing the right thing.  Car insurance, in New York State is mandatory for ALL automobiles operating in New York State.  As a matter of fact, it is against the law to operate a vehicle without insurance.  The reason for insurance?  If someone was careless and you are hurt you will receive fair compensation for your injury, your property damage, your lost wage and your medical expenses.


The very reason for the existence of the insurance policy and the insurance company backing the insurance policy is that if you get hurt, the insurance company will provide compensation.  The insurance industry makes amazing profits, and according to one law firm located in Utah, a recent study revealed that the most profitable auto insurance company in the United States in 2010 was State Farm Insurance, pulling in $1.8 billion dollars. There were several others that weren’t far behind. Farmers Insurance came in at $1.686 billion and liberty mutual at $1.678 billion. Auto insurance profits total in the hundreds of millions to low billions every year. According the American Association for Justice profits for the auto insurance industry as a whole total close to $3 trillion annually.  The fact that these companies have marketed in such a fashion as to make people feel guilty about bringing claims is apparent.  The less claims there are the more money the insurance company makes.  But the purpose of insurance is to help people...or at least that is what it is supposed to be.

I thought that it would be a good idea to describe what an insurance policy is, in general terms -- and why you should read it.  There are many aspects to a policy that you buy for yourself that is worthwhile knowing about just in case you do get into an accident.

The place to start out with in your policy is the DECLARATIONS PAGE.  The declarations page, or what we lawyers call the "Dec page", is usually found near the first pages of your policy.  It lists the named insureds, the address, the broker's or the agent's name and insurance company and the policy limits.

Looking at your own insurance declarations page for your automobile insurance policy you will see an entry for "Bodily Injury" and, sometimes "Bodily Injury and Property Damage", depending on the type of policy.  New York State mandates that all vehicles operating on the roadways have insurance.  However, the minimum policy that is mandated starts at the $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident level.  What does that mean?  It means that in any given accident caused by the insured, one person is entitled to a maximum amount of $25,000 for non-economic damages, (pain and suffering, and the effects of the injury that do not include loss of wage, medical bills -- those are covered under the no-fault part of a policy described in another post).  If more than one person is injured be it two or five or twenty five, the maximum amount that the policy will pay out including everyone is $50,000.  Thus, if five people were injured and their injuries were similar, the most they could receive would be $10,000.  Now, that is the situation if the policy is the MINIMUM mandated New York State policy.  Policies can, and most often are, purchased in higher amounts for the protection of others.

The reason why you should get as much insurance as you can reasonably afford for the protection of others is so that you know that if you are careless and cause someone serious damage, they will be fairly compensated AND that your coverage will protect your assets should the driver get a verdict for a larger amount than your insurance coverage protects you for.

So your first stop in reviewing your policy is the DECLARATIONS PAGE and the limits for bodily injury and property damage.

In my next post, I'll talk about another part of the declarations page.


Friday, January 11, 2013

Car Accidents -- Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Benefits. WATCH OUT!

I have written before on the subject of SUM coverage that is a type of car insurance coverage that is absolutely necessary in today's economic climate.  For the benefit of your family and yourself, if you do not have SUM, (supplementary  uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits), get it! 

We all know that in New York, and most other states, it is mandatory, (and as a matter of fact, punishable by a criminal sanction), to have your vehicle covered with an automobile liability coverage.  One of the reasons for that mandate is to cover the owner and operator of a vehicle if they should operate the vehicle carelessly and cause someone damage.  That car insurance policy that you purchased will then protect you from losing your home or other valuables should you get sued because you hurt someone while operating your vehicles.  So, in New York State, and most other places, when you are driving around, we all have the security knowing that if someone makes a mistake and drives carelessly causing an accident, you can bring a claim and get money damages for the injury that the careless driver caused.  So far, so good...

In early January 2013, I met with a very fine young man.  He had been operating a vehicle in Massena, NY, and his lane was cut off by a very, very careless driver.  My client suffered badly, with a fractured shoulder, his left leg was fractured so severely that the bone was sticking out of the skin and his right leg was fractured as well.  Both legs had to be operated on.  He was in the hospital for about one and a half months.

The other driver -- the "bad guy" -- had a car insurance company -- Progressive Insurance Company.  So far, so good.  But his policy was not "good" enough.  The careless driver's policy under progressive had the mandatory policy to cover for injuries.  But the policy limit that the careless driver purchased was the minimum limit, $25,000.  Most lawyers, and most people, would know that my client's injuries are way, way, way above that $25,000 limit.  So, what does he do?

What he did do was purchase a SUM -- supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist policy.  Remember, this is not mandatory.  You have to ask your agent to buy this type of coverage.  What does it do?

SUM coverage:
This means that if the person who causes a automobile accidentt is uninsured, that is, has NO INSURANCE,  there is still coverage for you and your household relatives, up to the amount of coverage you purchase.

This also means that if the person who causes an accident is underinsured, (has less coverage that you purchased on your car), there may be additional coverage available up to the amount of your policy limits on your car.

Underinsurance coverage provides to you and your family coverage up to the amount you purchase. In other words, any coverage the at-fault party is increased up to the amount of coverage you purchased.

For example, if the at-fault party has the New York State minimum liability coverage of $25,000, and you have a $100,000 SUM/UM rider, then the most you could ever recover is $100,000. In basic terms, it means that you have an additional $75,000 available, (giving you a total of the $100,000 that you purchased) giving you an amount that you would not have had if you did not purchase the SUM/UM rider.

There are many situations where your SUM/UM coverage might be used – but again, this is coverage for you. Even if you have $100,000/$300,000 in liability coverage, it might not mean there is that much available for you. It is a good idea to make sure that you are properly covered in case of an accident.

Now, back to my story.

In my client's case, Progressive Insurance company sent my client a letter telling him that their careless driver that they insured had only $25,000.  They offered it immediately to him and told him to go ahead and sign the release document and they would send him a check.  Here is where my client, Nick, made the right choice:  HE CALLED ME!  If Nick signed the release and sent it along to Progressive he would have forfeited his right to make any claim on the SUM coverage.  Why?  Because his SUM coverage REQUIRES Nick to ask the SUM insurance company permission to settle for the $25,000.  So, if Nick had listened to Progressive and not spoken to us, it would have been the end of that and Nick would have been out of luck and would have received none of the extra SUM coverage to which he was entitled.

Time and time again, over my almost thirty years of practice, I have heard some people say, "don't call a lawyer, they'll only screw you."  I am proud to work with the professionals with whom I work here at my office.  Because of Nick's injuries, and because of the limited coverage, (his SUM was only $50,000), we didn't charge Nick or his family any fee.  But we worked the file for him and for his mother and father because they were nice people who were about to be taken advantage of by people who really don't care about him and just care about the money.  Call me Santa Joe.

Happy New Year!!